6 Wasabi Dishes That Will Spice Up Your Winter Dinner Menu

Thanks to the popularity of sushi in the U.S., most Americans know what wasabi is. The green paste that often accompanies a sushi roll has a distinct taste and texture, and it can clear your sinuses in no time. According to The Daily Meal, wasabi is a root that is part of the same family as mustard and horseradish, although the kind served at restaurants and found in supermarkets often differs from the real thing. Because the true wasabi root is so expensive, chefs often enlist a substitute that is made by combining mustard, horseradish, and food coloring. That helps make “wasabi” more affordable, which is appealing to consumers who buy the tubes of wasabi and use it in their own cooking.

Enlisting wasabi in your own kitchen is a great way to turn your cooking up a notch and give your dishes a sophisticated flavor that impresses any dinner guests. Whether you whip up wasabi salmon, serve a wasabi dip, or master your own wasabi peas, your guests won’t soon forget your wasabi expertise. Here are 6 recipes that will introduce you to cooking with wasabi.

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1. Wasabi Guacamole

Get ready for your guacamole to get even better. This Wasabi Guacamole recipe from All Recipes has a great kick and is a fun twist on your favorite green dip. While some guacamole recipes only require avocados, onions, and sea salt, this formula takes it to the next level with eggs, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, and wasabi powder.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 ripe Hass avocados peeled and chopped

1 onion, finely diced

1 tomato, finely diced

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon wasabi powder

1 green onion, thinly sliced

chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer, and fill with water to cover the eggs by at least 1 inch. Cover the saucepan, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, remove from the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes. Pour out the hot water, then cool the eggs under cold running water in the sink. Peel and dice the eggs.

Use a fork to mash the avocados in a large bowl. Stir in the hard cooked eggs, onion, tomato, lime juice, pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and wasabi powder. Mix well; taste, and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Place guacamole in serving bowl, and garnish with green onion and cilantro. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend.

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2. Wasabi Deviled Eggs

Next up: another wasabi-flavored appetizer from Martha Stewart. Deviled eggs are the perfect snack to serve before a meal, and when you bring wasabi into the mix, the finger food gets even more appealing. This Wasabi Deviled Eggs recipe requires only 6 ingredients and yields 16 eggs, an ideal serving size for a party.

Ingredients:

8 large eggs

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 ½ teaspoons wasabi paste

2 teaspoons unseasoned rice-wine vinegar

2 large scallions, minced

Coarse salt

Pea shoots or sprouts, for garnish

Directions: Prepare an ice-water bath. Place eggs in a medium saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 13 minutes. Drain, and transfer eggs to ice-water bath until cold.

Peel eggs, and halve lengthwise. Transfer yolks to a medium bowl, and mash with a fork until smooth. Stir in mayonnaise, wasabi, vinegar, and scallions. Season with salt. Pipe or spoon filling into whites. Garnish with pea shoots or sprouts.

Source: iStock

3. Wasabi Peas

Wasabi Peas: some consumers’ dream, others’ nightmare. If you’ve ever convinced an unassuming friend to try a handful of wasabi peas, you know what we’re talking about. The heat from wasabi peas can surprise anyone who isn’t ready for that rush of flavor, but the snack can still quickly become addicting. If you’re interested in perfecting the peas at home, try this recipe from Gourmet Sleuth and see how quickly the sinus-clearing snack disappears.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried whole peas

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 teaspoons wasabi powder

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions: Soak the peas in water to cover overnight. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain the peas, then cook them according to instructions on the package. Mix the olive oil with the cooked peas until well coated.

Oil a baking sheet and spread the peas evenly across it. Place in the oven and bake for 5 hours, until the peas appear dry and are crisp when bitten into. Combine the wasabi powder, tahini, rice vinegar and mustard in a mixing bowl. Combine the wasabi mixture with the hot peas making sure that all the peas are evenly coated. Using a rubber spatula, spread the peas on the baking sheet, separating as many as you can. Increase the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the peas for 10 to 15 minutes, until the coating is dry.

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4. Salmon with Soy-Honey and Wasabi Sauces

If you’re looking to take your main meal up a notch, try this recipe from Epicurious for Salmon with Soy-Honey and Wasabi Sauces. This dinner is the perfect, fun twist on everyone’s favorite fish. As long as you have soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, and wasabi powder, you’re good to go. Pick up a filet of salmon and preheat the oven.

To make sauces: Boil soy sauce, honey, and lime juice in a small saucepan, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir together wasabi powder and water in a small bowl. Broil fish, skin sides down, on oiled rack of a broiler pan 5 to 7 inches from heat until fish is just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Serve salmon drizzled with sauces.

Source: iStock

5. Homemade Ginger Pasta with Curried Sweet Potato Wasabi Sauce

Ready for an ultra sophisticated supper recipe? Enter: Homemade Ginger Pasta with Curried Sweet Potato Wasabi Sauce, a Food52 formula. It’s a mouthful, but we know you can do it. What else do you have to do in the dog days of winter? Hunker down in your kitchen and perfect the art of wasabi and homemade pasta. Your tastebuds and your dinner guests will thank you, and you can check one more cooking ambition off your to-do list.

Ingredients:

Homemade Fettuccine

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

4 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

¼ teaspoon dried ginger

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons water

Curried Sweet Potato Wasabi Sauce

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes

14 ounces light coconut milk

1 teaspoon red curry paste

2 tablespoons freshly grated wasabi

3 ½ teaspoons coconut or brown sugar

½ lime, juiced

16 ounces frozen peas

1 pound homemade ginger pasta or stringy pasta of your choice

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: Combine the flours and salt in a bowl or work surface, creating a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well. Using a mixer or by hand, slowly mix, incorporating the egg into the flour mixture a little at a time. Once you have a dry shaggy dough, mix in the gingers, olive oil and water. Knead until dough is fairly smooth and homogeneous. Divide the dough into four portions and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rest for 20 minutes. Using a pasta maker thin and cut the pasta as desired. To cook, boil in salted water until al dente, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well and serve.

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook sweet potatoes in it until fork-tender. Mash sweet potatoes. Place in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix in the coconut milk, red curry paste, wasabi, coconut sugar, and juice from half a lime. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes so flavors can meld. Add in the peas and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with pasta and serve.

Source: iStock

6. Wasabi-Crusted Chicken Breasts

Last but not least are the Wasabi-Crusted Chicken Breasts highlighted on Food.com. This is one more winter dinner to feed your loved ones, and is a little easier than the aforementioned recipe. To enjoy a fun spin off on the sometimes boring chicken breast, combine wasabi powder with your usual bread crumbs, pepper, and salt. Then, proceed as normal until it comes to the sauce. You will combine teriyaki sauce, sake, and chicken broth to drizzled over the cooked breasts, and then you’re ready to sprinkle with green onions and serve.